Alabama Football: What to look for in spring from Sark and the QBs

Alabama football has a new offensive system to install and practice this spring. What to expect and when from Sark and the quarterbacks.

Alabama football fans want to know how Steve Sarkisian will change the Crimson Tide offense. Will Sark take the 2019 Tide to the West Coast style he has always preferred? Will Sark retain some of the RPO schemes utilized by Mike Locksley last season? Could the new offense be a mixture of both? Had Sarkisian remained with the Atlanta Falcons, it is believed he intended to incorporate some RPO as an enhancement to outside zone rushes.

Quarterbacks running West Coast systems are forced to make good reads and make them either pre-snap or quickly post-snap. Sarkisian will no doubt work with all the Tide quarterbacks, and especially Tua to get the ball out quickly. Tua seems well suited to such a system and it carries the added benefit of him not hanging in the pocket too long and getting pounded. Even if Tua does not improve significantly in his second full season (and he will), a healthier Tua will be a better Tua.

Crimson Tide fans have little concern over Tua or Sark’s offense. Concern comes from what happens if Tua gets injured and cannot compete in some tough games. Can Mac Jones or one of the freshmen be an adequate replacement? Mac would seem to have an experience advantage over the three freshmen, but with all of them having to learn a new offense, that advantage is reduced.

For Mac, Layne Hatcher, Paul Tyson and Lia Tagovailoa mental skills will be more important than physical attributes. Each of them will need to prove they can make all the throws required. They will have to be physically tough enough to run the football when appropriate. More important, to run Sark’s offense, they MUST make good reads. Spring for these guys will be as much about the film room as it is work on the field.

Alabama football fans will search for every clue throughout the spring. Those clues will at best offer an incomplete picture. Nick Saban always mandates a vanilla offense in the A-Day game. The spring scrimmages will offer more insight but they will be closed to the media and the general public.

On the two Saturday scrimmages leading up to A-Day, there will be some invited guests in attendance. They will be forewarned to not divulge anything. But observations and opinions do seep out. Depending on the source, the resulting clues can provide good insight for the rest of the Crimson Tide fanbase.

It is unlikely the entire new offense will be installed in only 15 spring sessions. Some additional installation may continue into fall camp.

This spring is about more than the quarterbacks. Seventeen members of the 2018, two-deep must be replaced. Bama Hammer will follow and report on the complete player transition.